This Genius Hack Transforms Any Lipstick Into a Matte

What do you do when a lipstick color is just right but the glossy finish doesn't line up with that Demi Lovato-esque velvet texture you had in mind? There are a few products on the market that you can layer over any color in your arsenal to tone down the shine, but if you prefer to keep your beauty hoard at its current size, you can use items you probably already have in your bathroom cabinet. Makeup artist Allan Avendaño, who works with Zendaya, Chrissy Teigen, and Gigi Hadid, among many others, offers up a trick so clever, we're almost mad that we didn't try it out before. All you need to try it out is a sheet of Kleenex, a shadow brush, and your favorite translucent powder.

"To give any lipstick a matte finish, I simply powder it down. I place a tissue directly on the lips, and apply translucent powder directly on the tissue," Avendano explains. Regardless of how light a hand you use, you definitely need the tissue there, otherwise you run the risk of applying too much powder. As the saying goes, it's always much easier to build up the intensity slowly, rather than dabbing on more than you should and having to start all over. "The tissue acts kind of like a filter so that the lip doesn't get over-powdered, and you can control just how much you mattify it," he adds. "It's one of those genius beauty hacks I came across at random, but it has worked wonders for me." Even better, the technique sets the color, so that the finish lasts longer.